Heart Rate Zones and Training: Zone 4

[@Emotioneler]

I do martial arts and sparring where we train at zone 4-5 really often - you get there really really quick

[@TheCatalystMethod]

I'd hit Zone 5 just looking at the sparring mat! :)

[@zacsborntorunrunningadvent3441]

Zone4 is great fun to Race a Half Marathon in with touching on Zone5 in the late stage of the race.

[@mikexhotmail]

indeed. ps. This is why I love Half Marathon.

[@Nyonide]

AND: Maybe there is a different mentality here in Austria, but I for myself and many other athletes that I know have no problem at all to get to Zone 4/5 by intrinsic motivation.

[@mckonal]

i am training for a maraton and this video was perfect. yesterday i had a tempo run with %88 heartrate max and i knew it was in zone 4. it was barely an hour and i could not continue for much more. i am going to incorporate zone2 trainings too, aiming a %65 heartrate max and it will be the predominant workout for me... but i have recently learnt that most of us runners are trying to run paces beyond our fitness and heartrate max levels. no wonder people die during those races! MAF method and training in zone2 definitely checks and keeps the ego at bay.

[@elliw4824]

I'm 76 and train alone. Two days a week I do a 1-hour rowing session. I do 45-minutes in zone 2, then switch it up to TABATA or Norwegian protocal for the last 15-minutes and a cool down. I go to around 143 BPM when doing zone 4. The push to zone 5 is my only real issue, at least on the rower. If I do a Bruce Protocol on a treadmill, I get to 11-minutes, with a heart rate of about 151 BPM. I know I have more in the tank, but working out alone, I have some caution in going higher. My resting pulse is 46. I do lifting 2 days a week and then one option day.

[@TheCatalystMethod]

Check out our new blog post on the Tabata protocol: catalystgym.com/catalyst-blog/the-tabata-protocol/

[@jonathangoulet3768]

my max HR is 182 i just ran a HM in 1:26 with avg HR of 165. Thats more than 90% of my HR for almost 1.5 hrs, Im not sure i get the part at 0.30-0.34 where it you say you cant produce fuel to operate at this level for more than a minute. Please explain.

[@mxd1232]

Maybe you maxhr is wrongly tested

[@king_of_diamonds2447]

Better use feelings not heart rate. If you stay in zone for 1,5 hours it’s not really hard effort. You should be able to keep up a few minutes

[@IanGreen1]

Just before that, he says that at this heart rate you are relying on carbohydrates for fuel (e.g. glucose in your blood coming from food you've consumed). At lower heart rates like Z2, your body can produce energy from fat stores, so you're not reliant on carbohydrates for energy - your body can't do that at Z4. That's why your carb load the night before and take gels during the race.

[@88tongued]

jogging puts me into zone 4, and I've been exercising for years. I feel like I'm a nonresponder.

[@uMsubathi]

Hi. Which race are you training for?

[@makisxatzimixas2372]

Try the elliptical, it's awesome. Really brings out your real heart rate. Running for me will always feel like lifting weights. I don't plan on getting skinny just to be able to run. Elliptical, swimming, and cycling FEEL aerobic Running feels awkward.

[@yusufselimkaratas5163]

same here, did you find any solution ?

[@TheCatalystMethod]

You probably need to spend more time in Zone 2. Your body is jumping straight to burning carbohydrates because it hasn't been trained to burn fats. This is common in both ends of the spectrum: the severely deconditioned, and the specialists who have been going very hard for a long period (like >5 years.) You see this in CrossFitters sometimes: they're trained to jump from baseline to high heart rate very fast, and eventually their body does that all the time. When I went back to cycling after 10 years of CF, I had a hard time keeping my heart rate under 70% even on a flat course. I had to force myself to slow way down and ride "too easy" for a full year. But then I started metabolizing fats better, feeling better, and shedding bodyfat.

[@king_of_diamonds2447]

@@TheCatalystMethodthank you. Useful.

[@upperstringsstudio]

I find it pretty easy to get into zone 4 for 15-20 minutes at a time after warming up, and it hardly takes a ton of will or motivation to stay in zone 4.

[@irishmick6709]

I'd say you're probably in Zone Three then.

[@sid1290]

Omg finally someone like me. I’m 25 and I can sustain zone 4 (166-177bpm) for 20-25 mins without getting exhausted in the end.

[@shockwavepulsar7996]

I do 45m z4 166bpm and 20m z5 172 max on my own cycling. Took me about 3 years and 40k km's

[@rz9wb]

Do we need to eat carbs or fat/protein after a 30min tempo run?

[@kickskii]

According to me heart rate tracker I held my zone 4 while running for 25 minutes ~162bpm average during that entire time with the entire run averaging to about 145bpm because my shins gave out and i had to slowly drag myself to home in zone 1-2 because a cool song came up and I went threshold for a couple minutes

[@sid1290]

I do zone 4 steady state cardio for 20-25 mins everyday. And it’s steady state cardio, not interval training.

[@Estebar33]

it works because you only do it for 20-25 minutes.

[@Nyonide]

It is just not true. One can do much longer in Zone 4 than 60-90 seconds. Do you have robust evidence for this time frame?

[@simeon-1383]

You're right, I did today!

[@Lagerfanny-g7e]

I don’t have trouble with reaching this zone.

[@davidbernalpianista]

For how long should I stay in zone 5? I have no issues getting there on my own but I wonder if it could be bad if sustained for too long.

[@ironian07]

What zone would you recommend to build durability on the road bike? Would it be Tempo zone 3 or Zone 4.

[@rz9wb]

Can your z2 change day to day? Let’s say you got your max to 193bpm during a race on low sleep, 440mg caffeine, modafinil and beet juice, but on a normal day you can’t get it that high. Does that mean on those normal days your zone2 is actually lower?

[@xtrekrex]

It’s very difficult for me to reach zone 4. I did an actually VO2 max test at a lab. I didn’t realize how hard you can get pushed lol.

[@TheCatalystMethod]

It's hard to reach and very hard to stay there. This is where Mixed-Modal Interval training (like CrossFit, for example) is really useful: in our heads, a change is as good as a rest. While I don't know anyone with the mental fortitude to spend 20-30 minutes in Zone 4 on a run or cycle, it's pretty common in your average CrossFit class. CrossFit is a good example of MMIT when it's programmed correctly, and when CrossFit is included in a broader context (as we do at Catalyst) it's a good pillar of health.

[@rz9wb]

I bought a coros but setting custom zones based on HR sucks on it, what do you recommend?

[@m.rochecouste1095]

Get a chest strap from Polar -- certainly cheaper than a new smart watch.

[@mblegend3056]

I do cycling for 3, 4 and 5 hours moving time and after each ride, my average heart rate is at my zone 4.

[@rz9wb]

What HR% is aerobic threshold?

[@TheCatalystMethod]

usually 70%. But if you get a metabolic test, it might be a little lower or higher.

[@rz9wb]

@@TheCatalystMethod Great thank you, when someone says do a 5k TT once a week at your aerobic threshhold(80% MAX he said), does that mean, my HR average is 80% MAX(you say 70%) for the course of the TT, or does that mean, my HR gets up to 70-80% but doesn't exceed it much? Thanks.

[@rz9wb]

I found the info, he meant 80% average, he clarified his post.

[@ChunkyROX]

I workout at zone 4 for 1 hour.. does that mean my apple watch zone 4 is probably not zone 4?😂

[@MonchiDiaz11]

I also do zone 4 and can sustain it for more than 30 minutes. Tested with both my apple watch and my Garmin watch and dedicated Garmin HRM. So yeah, either he's talking about a completely different thing or he's just plain wrong.

[@brianthomas3451]

Same, I do this on an elliptical for an hour remaining in zone 4 for almost the entire time